Pneumatically fed continuous operation mulling apparatus and method for accurately proportioning foundry sand ingredients



March 4. 1969 R. E. KAWECKI 3,430,930

PNEUMATICALLY FED CONTINUOUS OPERATION MULLING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ACCURATELY PROPORTIONING FOUNDRY SAND INGREDIENTS Filed April 1968 n w w h 2 6 5 2 6 2 2 3 O (L J 0 w 2 5 4 5 w J m 6 H m PINVENTOR Ralph E. Kowec/r/ ATTORNEY March 4, 1969 R. E. KAWECKI 3,430,930

PNEUMATICALLY FED CONTINUOUS OPERATION MULLING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ACCUHATELY PROPORTIONINC' FOUNDRY SAND INGREDIENTS Filed April 4, 1968 Sheet 3 of a I NV EN TOR Ralph E. Kowec/r/ ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,430,930 .PNEUMATICALLY FED CONTINUOUS OPERA- TION MULLING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ACCURATELY PROPORTION IN G FOUND- RY SAND INGREDIENTS Ralph E. Kawecki, New Britain, Conu., assignor to Southington Manufacturing, Inc., Southington, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 683,542, Nov. 16, 1967. This application Apr. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 718,874 US. Cl. 259-146 Claims Int. Cl. B28c 7/04 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is a pneumatically fed continuous operation mulling apparatus and method for accurately proportioning foundry sand ingredients in that the metering and feeding of the sand and the liquid ingredients are operated by pneumatic pressure, rather than being solely gravity fed or metered. As a result, in this invention, liquid ingredient supply tanks may be placed at or below the level of an elongate mulling trough into which the ingredients are fed separately at one end and discharged in mulled condition at the other end in a continuous operation.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 683,542 filed Nov. 16, 1967, for Continuous Operation Mulling Apparatus and Method for Accurately Proportioning Foundry Sand Ingredients, which is an improvement on prior Patent 3,355,154 of Nov. 28, 1967.

Objects of invention It is an object of this invention to provide a pneumatically fed continuous operation foundry sand ingredients mulling apparatus and method. A further object of this invention is to improve on the invention above identi fied by providing pneumatic pressure controlling means for the sand feed and pneumatic pressure feeding means for the liquid ingredients so that the liquid supply tanks may be located at or below the level of the mulling trough into which the ingredients are fed and to provide means for stopping the feed of the liquid ingredients by releasing the pneumatic pressure on the supply tanks.

Brief summary of invention In brief, this invention uses pneumatic pressure for feeding liquid ingredients to a continuous operation elongate mulling trough from liquid supply tanks that are located at or below the level of the tanks,and also utilizes pneumatic pressure for controlling a gate valve in a sand feed funnel feeding to the elongate mulling trough adjacent one end thereof, the liquid ingredients feeding into 3,430,930 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 ice Description of invention There is shown at 10 the pneumatically controlled continuous operation mulling apparatus for accurately proportioning foundry sand ingredients and for carrying out the method of this invention. Aside from the pneumatic pressure controls, the apparatus is basically similar to that of the above referred to application, and the term pneumatic pressure is to be interpreted as including not only air pressure, but any other type of gas pressure that it may be convenient to use.

This apparatus 10 includes a base platform 12 supporting a stanchion sleeve 14 with spaced sleeve bearings 16 through which is inserted a pivot tubing 18 depending from a head 20. Supported on the head 20 is a mulling trough 22. The trough 22 may be secured in adjusted pivoted position, as desired, by the handle knob 24 on the locking set screw 26.

Directly over the pivot tubing 18 on the top side of the trough 22 is located a sand receiving funnel 28 at the rear end of the mulling trough 22. On the bottom side of the mulling trough 22 at the opposite and forward end thereof is located the discharge spout 30, beneath which may be placed a suitable receptacle to receive the mulled or mixed foundry sand, ready for use. Extending through the elongate mulling trough 22 and supported on bearings 32 at opposite ends of the trough 22 is a mulling blade shaft 34 carrying suitable mulling blades 36 and 38, of a suitable number and shape. The blade shaft 34 is powered by a jack shaft 40 from a flexible coupling 42 and geared electric motor '44 powered from any suitable source of electricity.

In this invention, acid and binder tanks 46 and 48 are located on the base platform 12 below the level of the trough 22. The tanks 46 and 48, and their feed control means are substantially mirror images of each other. Extending through the top of each tank 46 and 48 to adjacent to but spaced from the bottom thereof is a feed pipe 50 having a manually controllable regulator valve 52 for metering the liquid passing therethrough to a flexible acid delivery hose 54 and binder delivery hose 56, the acid hose 54 being closer to the sand funnel 28 than the binder hose 56, as shown in FIG. 2 for delivering metered amounts of acid and binder into the sand that has entered the trough 22 through the funnel 28. To cause the acid and binder to flow from their tanks 46 and 48 through the hoses 54 and 56 into the mulling sand in the trough 22, a measured amount of pneumatic pressure is maintained in the top of each tank 46 and 48 above the liquid placed therein through filler pipes 58,- the amount of liquid in the tanks being observable through the sight glass gauges 60 on the sides of the tanks 46 and 48..

the trough adjacent the same end and the mulled or mixed 1 foundry sand discharging continuously at the other end.

Description of figures With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the pneumatically con trolled and fed mulling apparatus of this invention, facing the discharge end of the trough.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, the supporting base being partlyin section.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of the mulling shaft mounting and the mulling blades.

A pneumatic pressure nipple 62 is connectable by a pneumatic hose 64 to any suitable source (not'shown) of pneumatic pressure, such as a pump or pressure tank. From pressure entry nipple 62, the pneumatic pressure is led by suitable pipes through a pneumatic pressure regulator 66, preferably set at fifteen pounds pressure, into the top of each tank 46 and 48. Each tank is provided with a safety pressure escape valve 68 set at seventeen pounds pressure, that is, two pounds above that of the pressure regulator valve 66. In addition, each tank 46 and 4 8 is provided with solenoid pressure discharge valve 70 to release all the pressure in the tanks 46 and 48 when operation of the apparatus is stopped.

Pressure from the nipple 62 also is led through another pressure regulator valve 67 to a solenoid valve 72 Operation of invention In operation, the foundry sand is accurately proportioned by mulling a prescribed amount of sand with a prescribed amount of acid, usually phosphoric acid, and then by mulling the sand and acid with a prescribed amount of binder, usually a resin furfural binder. In this invention, the ingredients are pneumatically pressure controlled to feed continuously and accurately into the muller trough 28 in metered amounts, then mulled for a prescribed period of time as the ingredients pass along the trough 22, then discharged continuously through the discharge chute 30 into a suitable receiver. The acid is placed in tank 46, from which it is pressure fed past its metering valve 52 and through its flexible hose 54 into the muller trough 22 entering near the sand coming in from the funnel 28 past its opened gate valve 80. The sand is thus somewhat mixed with the acid before it reaches the binder entering from the binder supply hose 56. The sand, acid and binder continue to mix as the muller blades rotate and feed it toward the discharge spout 30.

The pneumatic pressure from nipple '62 maintains a prescribed pressure in the tanks 46 and 48 as a result of the pressure regulators 66 and safety valve 68 so that the liquid is fed to the trough 22 at the optimum metered rate and when the apparatus is stopped, the valves 70 are actuated to release all pneumatic pressure from the tanks 46 and 48 and the solenoid valve 72 is actuated to close the sand gate valve 80. The liquid in the tanks may be continuously observed through glass gauges 60 and replenished as needed through the filler pipes 58 so that the apparatus may be kept in continuous operation, as desired.

Abstract of invention drawings In the drawings, like numbers refer to like parts, and for the purposes of explication, marshalled below are the numbered parts of the improved pneumatically fed continuous operation mulling apparatus and method for accurately proportioning foundry sand ingredients:

10-pneumatic controlled continuous mulling apparatus 12-base platform 14-stanchion sleeve 16-spaced sleeve bearings 18-pivot tubing 20-muller head 22-muller trough 24-handle knob 26-set screw 28-sand receiving funnel on 22 30-discharge spout 32-bearings for 34 34-mulling blade shaft 36-mulling blades 38-mulling blades 40-jack shaft 42-flexible coupling 44-geared electric motor 46-acid tank 48-binder tank 50-liquid feed pipes from 46 and 48 52-regulator valves on 50 54--acid hose 52 to 22 56-binder hose 52 to 22 58-filler pipes to tanks 46 and 48 60-sight glass gauge 62-pressure entering nipple 64-pressure entry hose 66-pressure regulator 67-pressure regulator Gil-pressure safety escape valve 70-solenoid pressure discharge valve 72-solenoid valve controlling 80 74-pressure hoses to 76 76-pneumatic pressure motor 78-connector rod and clevis pin 76 to 80 -80-sand gate valve in funnel 28 Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A pneumatic pressure fed continuous foundry sand ingredients mulling apparatus (10) comprising in combination, an ingredients mixing elongate muller trough (22), a gravity feed sand supply funnel (28) discharging into one end of said trough (22), a sand gate valve (80) in said funnel, a plurality of liquid ingredient supply tank means ('46 and 48) supported adjacent said muller trough (22), a liquid feed pipe means (50, 54 and 56) from each said liquid tank means (46 and 48) discharging into said elongate trough (22), liquid metering valve means (52) in each said liquid feed pipe means, a discharge spout (30) in the bottom of the opposite end of said elongate trough (22), and pneumatic pressure means (62, 64, 66) in said tanks (46, 48) feeding liquid ingredients from said tanks (46, 48) through said supply pipe means (54, 56) into said elongate trough (22).

2. The combination of claim 1, and pneumatic actuating means (76, 78) opening and closing said sand gate valve (80).

3. The combination of claim 1, said tank means (46, 48) being located below said elongate trough (22), said liquid feed pipe means (50) extending through said supply tanks (46, 48) to adjacent the bottoms thereof, said pneumatic pressure means (62, 64, 66) being adjacent the tops of said tanks (46, 48).

4. The combination of claim 3 and pneumatic pressure safety escape valve means (68) connected to the top of each said tank (46, 48).

5. The combination of claim 3, and means (66, 68) controlling the pressure of pneumatic pressure in said tanks.

6. The combination of claim 5, said pressure controlling means including a pressure regulating (66) pressure supply means (62, 64) to said tanks (46, 48).

7. The combination of claim 6 and also including a pressure safety valve (68) set at a pressure slightly above the pressure of said pressure regulating (66) pressure supply means (62, 64).

8. The combination of claim 5, and pressure release valves (70) in said tanks (46, 48) for stopping the feed of said liquids.

9. The combination of claim 1, and liquid sight gauges (60) extending from the side of each supply tank (46, 48).

10. In the method of mulling foundry sand and liquid ingredients in a continuous operation, the steps of pneumatically controlling (76, 80) the feeding of a supply of sand onto one end of an elongate mulling trough (22), pneumatically metering (52) acid (54) into the sand in the mulling trough (22) adjacent the sand receiving end (28), and pneumatically metering (52) binder (56) into the mulling sand and acid at a point intermediate the acid feed (54) therein and the opposite discharge end (30) of the mulling trough (22).

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,549,603 4/1951 Horth 259-147 3,136,009 6/ 1964 Dietert 259-149 3,184,112 5/1965 Loeser 222-136 3,336,011 8/1967 Futty 259-148 3,339,898 9/1967 Putty 259-148 ROBERT W. JENKINS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

